Japan has started releasing treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean which has seen China impose an immediate ban on Japanese seafood. Japan began pumping the water into the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant via an underground tunnel. The International Atomic Energy Agency approved the release in July with scientists saying the impact on people would be negligible. But China isn't convinced.
The Japanese government signed off on the discharge plan two years ago and the International Atomic Energy Agency gave its approval in July.Getting rid of the wastewater is a key step in decommissioning the Fukushima plant which was destroyed by a tsunami in 2011. The President of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, Tomoaki Kobayakawa, says compensation will be paid to any businesses that lose money.